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Fantastic vacation for 1st all-inclusive

I stayed at the Grand Princess in early July, 2013 with my husband and 3 year old, stayed in room 5102. Overall, great experience.
Check in was a breeze for us - it took just a few minutes and there wasn't a line, but I did walk past the lobby a few times to see a line. I guess it just depends on when you get there.
The resort is HUGE! Lots of walking, but we enjoyed that and there is always the option to take the shuttle if you were feeling lazy or if it was raining. Beautiful manicured landscaping, lots of walking paths, fun to see the iguanas walking around and once we even saw a small snake.
Food was pretty good. We mainly went to the a la carte restaurants and enjoyed them, even though some by the pool were complaining about the food. The only a la carte that wasn't great was the sushi, but maybe I am spoiled by good sushi at home. In the Riviera Buffet my favorite waiter was Gerameel. He was very friendly and always attentive to our needs.
Definitely worth upgrading to the platinum - we were able to make reservations easily and I heard that others had problems. I enjoyed the platinum lounge and the platinum pool too. Our room was huge and we got excellent service. We were very close to the beach/pools. I imagine that if you are...I stayed at the Grand Princess in early July, 2013 with my husband and 3 year old, stayed in room 5102. Overall, great experience.

Check in was a breeze for us - it took just a few minutes and there wasn't a line, but I did walk past the lobby a few times to see a line. I guess it just depends on when you get there.

The resort is HUGE! Lots of walking, but we enjoyed that and there is always the option to take the shuttle if you were feeling lazy or if it was raining. Beautiful manicured landscaping, lots of walking paths, fun to see the iguanas walking around and once we even saw a small snake.

Food was pretty good. We mainly went to the a la carte restaurants and enjoyed them, even though some by the pool were complaining about the food. The only a la carte that wasn't great was the sushi, but maybe I am spoiled by good sushi at home. In the Riviera Buffet my favorite waiter was Gerameel. He was very friendly and always attentive to our needs.

Definitely worth upgrading to the platinum - we were able to make reservations easily and I heard that others had problems. I enjoyed the platinum lounge and the platinum pool too. Our room was huge and we got excellent service. We were very close to the beach/pools. I imagine that if you are staying at the front of the hotel, the walk to the beach/pools would get old.

My husband saw on a review that the maids made towel-animals, but we never got one. Finally, on the last day he left a note with our tip asking for one for our child. We returned to two very elaborate towel-sculptures. So I guess if there is something you want, you just have to ask, even if it is towel-origami.

Lots of pool options - you could go to the party pool for music & entertainment or stick to the quieter ones, most with swim up bars. I would be cautious about where your room is and make sure you aren't by the party pool. If you want to nap in your room during the day, I imagine it is quite noisy.

The beach is a bit crowded but I guess that is what you get for a mega-resort. We always got a lounge chair and enjoyed the lunches on the beach and the platinum drink service.

Entertainment: it was nice that they had bands in the evenings. It gave you something to do after dinner before going back to your room. My child liked watching the "kid's disco," and we stayed for parts of a few of the "shows." They were fun, but nothing that I couldn't have lived without.

Kids club: I didn't...More

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Room Tip: Upgrade to Platinum - you will be close to the beach, but it doesn't ensure a beach view.

Stayed: July 2013, traveled with family

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Ask Julie G about Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort & Spa

3 Thank Julie G

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Many Thanks for sharing your experience with us and with other Trip Advisor readers. I appreciate the time you took to write about us, your feedback is very important to improve the opportunity areas we might have.One of our top priorities is that you and all our guests have a memorable experience to share with their family and friends.Without hesitation we will put your suggestions in practice.We are very happy to learn you enjoyed your stay with us and we look forward to welcome you back in the not too distant future.

Best Regards, Grand Riviera Princess

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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

A little late on my review but we traveled to Mexico end of January this year and stayed at the Grand Riviera Princess and it was totally an amazing experience.we had our daughter who was 1 1/2 at the time of and the resort was very child friendly.the service we got was amazing and the resort is very very clean i must say.everything at the resort was awesome..going from cleanliness to staff to the beach to daily night entertainment shows and lastly the tasty Food.

you will definitely love this place and just a friendly tip if your planning to go to this resort, be ready to walk because the resort is HUGE...beautiful but huge.

Room Tip: If your a couple with small children, request for a room not too far from the lobby and the pool area for your convenience.

Stayed: January 2013, traveled with family

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Ask Za1ny about Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort & Spa

1 Thank Za1ny

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My husband and I have just returned from Mexico grand riviera princess today. We chose Mexico as a honeymoon destination as we wanted to travel somewhere we had not been. We stayed 14 nights and in all honesty it was everything we wanted and more! Pictures do not do it justice. The place is huge grounds are lovely and well maintained always see people working day & night. All staff were extremely helpful and polite. There is a lot of walking but on a lovely hot day who cares enjoy it! They are so many pools so there is something to suit everyone we had few chill out days and other days around the party pool. Plenty of activities and the entertainment staff were fantastic shows were superb too. Food was brilliant so much choice even if you don't book the al a carte resturants, but they are worth it. Don't listen to the bad reviews obviously some people just like to moan and would find something to complain about no matter where they were. It's perfect for all ages we had a fantastic two weeks and would definitely return. Fantastic :-) oh worth a trip to spa too we had few trips there fantastic

Room Tip: Upgrade if possible before arrival as hotel gets full in summer months

Dear Guest,Thank you for your recent visit with us and for providing your nice review. I was pleased to read that you really had a nice stay at Grand Riviera Princess.I am glad that our hotel, services and the attention from our staff, met your overall expectations.

We will be delighted to welcome you back for your 1st wedding anniversary.

Best RegardsGrand Riviera Princess

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We stayed at this hotel for 2 weeks in June this year and had a great time. The staff are wonderful and will help you if they can. This hotel should be proud of their staff in the buffet restaurants, they do a great job (especially the Riviera buffet )The grounds on the whole are well kept and tended to by numerous gardeners. The food is as well as can be expected for an all inclusive hotel, and we never went hungry as always something to try. The problem with this hotel is that the menu is the same weekly and not changed every 2 weeks as a lot of hotels are doing now. We didn't try the a la carte restaurants (as we don`t like to eat at specified times when we are on holidays) so cannot say anything about them. The pools could do with a good painting and clean-up around them Now the downside....Firstly which really drives me mad is the policy of "NO reserving sun loungers either on the beach or at the poolside". Why have this policy if they don`t police it ??? EVERY day there would be towels on the beds that were put there the night before. GRRRR. All the management had to do was have a worker collect any towels left out at maybe 2am. If the towels belong to the hotel they are within their right to keep them and the perpetrators be made to pay the levy to get another towel card. If the towels belong to the guests, wel;l they could reclaim them at the lost property (reception) and given a warning about reserving loungers. That will stop the buggers from doing it again. hahahaha The 2nd thing is the no smoking in certain areas policy. We were sitting in a no smoking area one night and a couple sat down and started to smoke. The waitress was quick to tell them that it was a no smoking area (the signs on the tables stated that if, and a clue that there was no ashtray on the table) and they duly moved to another table. Within-in 2 minutes of them moving another group of Americans sat on the tables and 2 of them were smoking cigars. Did the waitress tell them to move ???? no way, she served them and did not once mention about the no smoking area. Could that be because they gave her a few tips and she didn't want to lose money ???? You could see people smoking in most of the no smoking areas. If the rule states "No Smoking" it should be a rule for ALL, not if and when it pleases. Would we go back there ???? It`s a long flight.....maybe a few too many Americans (men and women) that like to hear their own voice above everyone else (majority of Americans were great though)... It`s still open to debate. Would we recommend this hotel to others ...YES.

Stayed: June 2013, traveled with family

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Ask gareth f about Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort & Spa

2 Thank gareth f

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We stayed for 6 nights in June with our two teenagers. Great family resort is quieter than most of the Cancun hotels and much more family oriented. We had two platnium rooms. Check-in was a breeze, bags direct to the rooms. Being Platnium gives you perks I wouldn't go without it. There were two complimentary reservations made for us for the ala-carte resturants when we arrived. Then we were able to make reservations for all the other nights as soon as we arrived at the Platnium lounge. We even changed one of our "pre-made" reservations. All the ala-cartes were REALLY good but I would recommend the italian, seafood and steak as must go's. One tip if you choose to go to Miso make sure you ask for the "cooking show" otherwise it's just a sushi resturant. We made this mistake when making our reservation but the manager was VERY helpful and got us in on the other side with only a short wait. The buffets are typical for all inclusive. They were good, have good selection and everything fresh and hot. Rooms were immaculate, not sure what everyone is complaining about bugs etc. never saw one in our room. However please remember you are in a tropical climate there will be bugs and mosquitos. We left a daily $2 tip and "gift" (we brought dollar store items lotion, bath salts, etc) for the housekeeping staff and another $1 tip inside the mini-fridge with a note telling them what drinks we would like more of etc. Always got exactly what we wanted. They leave a standard 3 water bottles, pepsi, diet pepsi, fanta, 7up, and three beers daily. We requested additional waters etc. Helps to leave note in spanish, if you don't know how to write it Google translate is a fabulous tool. The fridge is stocked by different staff than housekeeping normally later afternoon. We took out any drinks specifically water that we hadn't drank so as to have extra to take off campus. Had towel animals every day and any extras we requested. The staff is wonderful, very friendly and always willing to help. Another Platnium perk is free room-service was great for those late-nights or sleeping in. As I mentioned we had two rooms one for my husband and I and one for our two teenagers. I had specific requests prior to arrival, one king bed in one room, two queens in another and ajoining or close rooms. I simple emailed the week prior to our arrival. I din't get a response to first email but keep trying, squeaky wheel you know. You get the normal "no guarantee" but if you don't ask you don't get it. We had everything as we requested and our kids were one door away. PERFECT! The nightly shows were fun - we also enjoyed sitting and listening to the live band every night. There is a cart shuttle from the Platnium area to the front lobby, people also used it to go to stops along the way and the beach. VERY nice after a long day but even if you choose to walk it isn't that far from lobby a 5-10 min walk max. This is a large resort but the complainers that said they had to walk must never walk anywhere? Sign up a day ahead of time and talk the complimentary shuttle to Playa del Carmen, great shopping and you can take a ferry boat over to Cozumel, we made a day trip of it and had a great time. You do have to pay $4 per person to come back unless you wait for the last shuttle of the day which there are limited seats for - or just take a taxi was only $20 back to hotel when we were ready. We also took a taxi and went snorkeling at Akumel beach, had a pre-arranged tour for Chiten-Itza and another shuttle to Dolphin Discovery where we swam with dolphins, sharks, sting-rays and manatees. I had made prior reservations and arrangements before we came but there are people on site that can help you with reservations also. Our Platnium concierge Oscar was a BIG help with the transportation information. All in all I would highly recommend this resort and we would love to come back again. I think a vacation is exactly what you put into it. You are on vacation sit back relax and enjoy it!!

Room Tip: Go Platnium - we were on the top floor had a nice view

Stayed: June 2013, traveled with family

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Ask Dwayne G about Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort & Spa

6 Thank Dwayne G

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Thank you for your generous review. We are pleased to know that you had a wonderful experience visiting at Grand Riviera Princess.All the staff of our Hotel feels so glad when we receive review as yours.

The Guest’s feedback is very important for us, because is the only way to know that we are doing well our job.On behalf of the entire team we would like to thank you for your observations, we are delighted to read that we were able to please you and fulfill your expectations.

It will be our pleasure to have another opportunity to show you the superb service for which we are known.

Kind RegardsGrand Riviera Princess

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My boyfriend and I stayed during the first week of May and have nothing to complain about. STAFF: The staff was great, always smiling and very friendly, they were happy to help you. FOOD: The food is delicious and it is worth to try every à-la-carte restaurant, because they are delightful and a buffet is a buffet everywhere in the world: you'll get tired of them really soon. Also the 24h-Sports bar is perfect for a late-late snack!BAR/POOLS: Drinks are amazing and you'll always get a seat at a pool bar, but not necessarily at the party pool which is always crowed. The party pool is not the place to relax and read a book, but there's enough pool side to have a nice quiet place to read. The bar between the sunset and riviera buffet we found had the best drinks (very flavorful and were not to overwhelmed with alcohol).BEACH: The beach is beautiful and clean. The only downside is the kiosks in front of the beach, but if you go to the left of the beach, you can have a nice place where you won't be disturbed by the vendors (too much), but you have to wake up early int he morning to reserve your seats. It gets crowded really quickly. As the beach isn't owned by the resort (belongs to the government) you are not allowed to bring your chair past the rope in the sand. But it never bothered me as I was happy to have a little shade when I was laying on my chair.ROOM: We were upgraded to a junior suite deluxe, because all the junior suites were taken. So we had a Jacuzzi in the room which we hardly never used. The room was spic and span. The A/C work perfectly. The shower was huge and had always hot water. The King-size bed was comfortable, but I asked the front desk for a warm blanket which I had no problem getting.RESORT: The resort is clean and the grounds are beautiful. You get to see iguanas, birds of all colors, coati mundis and domesticated cats. The gardens are green and lush. If you don't like to walk, the resort has shuttle to get you from the front desk to the beach, but they are not so often, so be prepare to walk a lot.OVERALL: People who complain about this resort must be hard to please, because I'm not the person that eats everything in a buffet and I always found something good to eat. I had no problems with insects or bugs in my room, it was always clean and smelling good. I woudl recommend it to anyone who likes to have a relaxing time at the beach as well as the ones looking for a lot of parties at the pool!

Stayed: May 2013, traveled as a couple

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Ask Caroline D about Grand Riviera Princess All Suites Resort & Spa

1 Thank Caroline D

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Dear Guest,Thank you for your great opinion on your stay at the Hotel.We are delighted to hear that you have enjoyed your experience at Grand Riviera Princess.One of our top priorities is that you and all our guests have a memorable experience to share with their family and friends.On behalf of all our staff we give the most sincere thank you for choosing our hotel for your holidays.We hope that we will be able to welcome you back to the Resort in the near future to show you again our outstanding service.

Best RegardsGrand Riviera Princess

Report response as inappropriateThank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.